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Sunday, July 27, 2014

The Material World - Irony of Life

Have you heard the news today, oh boy? The George Harrison
Memorial Tree, which was planted in his honor at the Griffith Observatory;
located in Los Angeles’ Griffith Park; has died. Apparently it passed away last
month but has just been announced last Monday by City Councilman Councilman Tom
LaBonge.

The irony in the story is that the tree died as a result of
an invasion of; you guessed it; beetles, the agricultural type. The irony of
this is further compounded by the frantic effort to replace it. Mr. Harrison,
who did not really believe in the impermanence of things material, would either
amuse or bemuse him. The tree was planted in 2004.

The tree is a nice gesture and draws tourists. But a far
better way to honor the former Beatle and all round musician/composer would be
to have a look at the following video from 1990. At the time Romania had just
come out of its darkest days under the brutal dictatorship of Nicolae Ceauşescu.

Thousands of women were raped by the military and forced to
carry the babies’ full term. Many of those children were infected with AIDS, as
well as severe learning disabilities. Hospitals, when available, were primitive
and lacking in everything. There were no schools for these children, who were
all slated to become members of the Romanian dictators military. When freedom
came the country was completely unprepared.

At the time, Olivia Harrison heard of the plight and visited
the country. When she came back she got together with the other Beatle wives
and formed the charity organization Romanian Angel Appeal Foundation. Quietly;
ever so quietly, over the course of the last 24 years; Olivia Harrison; along
with Barbara Bach, Yoko Ono and the now deceased Linda McCartney; made it
financially possible for these children to survive and even excel.

In this following 1990 interview you will not only hear the
story of how the charity came to be; but also about the Traveling Wilbury’s and
their second album “Volume 3” which was released in 1990.

“Nobody’s Child” wasn’t on the original album but appears on
the re-release. It’s an old American song by Cy Coben and Mel Foree; performed by
Lonnie Donnegan. George had to call Joe Brown in London to get the lyrics. It
was 5AM in London. They succeeded in getting half of them, and then wrote their
own last verse.

The song originally appeared on an album for the Romanian
Angel Appeal which featured artists such as the Traveling Wilbury’s, Stevie
Wonder, Paul Simon and George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, Guns N'
Roses, Ringo Starr, and Elton John. Here is that interview;